The importance of zeolites in the potential high-level radioactive waste repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada

Zeolitic rocks play an important role in retarding the migration of radionuclides that occur in solution as simple cations (Cs, Sr, Ba). However, the interaction of zeolites with complex transuranic species in solution provides little if any advantage over other common silicate minerals. The most important consequences of zeolite occurrences near a high-level radioactive waste repository environment are likely to be their response to thermal loading and their impact on site hydrology. Partial zeolite dehydration during the early thermal pulse from the repository and rehydration as the repository slowly cools can have an important impact on the water budget of a repository in unsaturated rocks, provided that the long-term heating does not result in zeolite destabilization